Turkey eyes $5B wind investments by year's end

Turkey plans to achieve around $5 billion in wind energy investments by the end of the year with the help of 1 gigawatt (GW) from the Turkish Renewable Energy Resource Zone Project (YEKA) along with finalized wind energy tenders of around 3 GW, according to the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TUREB) head on Friday.

TUREB President Mustafa Serdar Ataseven in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) said Turkey's wind energy installed capacity will be boosted through ongoing projects and planned tenders that will be finalized by the end of December.

The next pre-license tender for 2,130 megawatts (MW) will be offered over a five-day period beginning Monday, Dec. 25 to help generate electricity at competitive prices for Turkish consumers, Ataseven said.

He explained that the projects would take around three to four years to complete, after which operations can start to benefit consumers.

"These projects are significant but Turkey can do much better," he asserted, adding that Turkey can reach 7 GW of installed capacity by the end of the year.

He advised that investments should continue in order to tap into Turkey's wind energy potential, which he said is more than double that of the current installed capacity.

According to the General Directorate of Renewable Energy studies, the techno-economic wind energy potential for Turkey is 48 GW but currently, only 11GW of project stock is available.

Nonetheless, progress has been made and Ataseven said the Aegean and Marmara regions have seen an expansion in capacity in the country that is one of the biggest onshore wind markets in Europe.

Turkey has 11GW of wind power stock on hand and has a national target of 20 GW of installed capacity by 2023, he said.